This is not a political article. It really is about accountability. I’m not taking a side in the recent elections in the United States. I do, however, see an alarming trend in the gross lack of accountability with our political leaders. I find it interesting that every time I speak at an event someone comes up and says you should go to Washington and tell them what you shared with us.
The Democrats just took a major beating in the mid-term election. The Republican Party now controls both the House and the Senate. All during the campaign process the Democrats distanced themselves from President Obama. They distanced themselves from the Affordable Care Act. They wanted President Clinton to come out and stump with them. The outcome? They failed and they failed miserably.
Let’s review the facts:
When President Obama came into office the economy was on a hard slide into the basement. Unemployment was on the rise at 7.8% and moved to 10.0% within 10 months. Today it is at 5.8%. Banks were failing and today our banking industry is enjoying record profits. The stock markets are at record highs. There are 10 million Americans with healthcare who didn’t have healthcare coverage before. Our troops are out of Afghanistan.
Now I’m not saying that everything the President has done has worked but when you look at these facts you have to wonder, why has everyone cut bate and run? Why were candidates distancing themselves from a president who caused the best voter turnout in US history? Why did the Democrats try to hide that they voted for the Affordable Care Act? Just what was everyone ashamed of? Why would you want a past-president out campaigning for you when you could have a sitting president show up, encourage voters to come out and to continue to support the positive actions accomplished over the past six years?
The bottom line is simply this. Our leaders don’t know what they believe. They say they believe one thing to this group and then another thing to another group. They don’t have the conviction of mind or heart to get behind something and stay behind it. It’s not about doing what they believe is right; it’s about trying to get re-elected. The sad truth in this situation is the “plan” didn’t work. Personally I don’t believe that the Republicans won all of those seats, the Democrats lost them. It’s hard to be accountable to people who aren’t accountable to you. It’s hard to vote for someone who doesn’t stand up for what they believe. Maybe if you did what was right you would end up getting elected.
What would have happened if the Democrats stood up and said, “We brought unemployment down, got the economy on the right track, added 10 million Americans to the roster of people covered by healthcare and brought our troops home. We would like your continued support.”?
I want to vote for someone who knows what he or she believes. I want to vote for someone who doesn’t wave like a flag in the wind. I want to vote for someone who is accountable to themselves and to the people they represent.
We live in a country that will fight for what we believe but we have two political parties who will flop at the drop of a hat if they think they can pick up an extra vote.
The truth is that we want political leaders who will say what they believe and then stay the course. We want to support someone who is resolute in what they believe. We want to back someone who is accountable and keeps their commitments to themselves and the people they serve.
I don’t know that anyone in Washington really cares about this. I’m certainly willing to share my thoughts with them, but I’m not expecting that opportunity. My phone number is 314-878-9252 if someone in Washington wants to call.
